1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inkjet printer which discharges ink from a print head to perform printing.
2. Description of the Related Art
The inkjet printer discharges ink from multiple micro nozzles provided in a print head to perform printing. Ink in the nozzles dries, thickens, and adheres with a lapse of time when the printer remains not in use. Print quality may also be deteriorated by poor discharge of ink due to clogged nozzles caused by the mixing of paper powder, dust, air bubbles, etc. into the ink.
To prevent these problems, there is known a cleaning mechanism for cleaning a print head in a position outside a printing zone of the print head mounted on a carriage. For example, a slider holding a cap is provided in the cleaning mechanism so that the movement of the slider will follow the movement of the carriage. In this case, the print head is capped and a negative pressure is generated in the cap to suck ink from the clogged ink nozzles. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,390,592 and 6,913,340 disclose inkjet printers with such a cleaning mechanism.